Selling is the backbone of any business. It is what keeps the doors open, pays the bills, and allows families to live. Without sales teams companies struggle to sell products and services.

One important tool that sales teams use is promotional events. These events potential customers and clients to join in and observe products in person. Clients can ask questions and use and gain extra knowledge on some products or the company at these live events. 

Corporate businesses can gain new customers and advertise new products to existing customers by simply hosting a promotional event. These events can show clients why a company is leading a specific industry or what sets them apart from other big names.

What Is The Meaning Of a Promotional Event?    

According to the Collins dictionary, a promotional event is a marketing term for an occasion or event where a certain service or product is shown to a specific group of people.  

These live meetings can be scheduled for multiple different products that are new to the market or some products that can be accessed by paying less. The idea is to focus on ensuring a spike in sales of these products. Corporate companies can use these events as a measure to advertise the company. 

What Are Promotional Events For? 

These events can be used for multiple reasons. With different events, companies can obtain certain goals. Promotional events are conferences that advertise or promote specific products or services that are new. 

These events are to raise awareness of the company brand or business advertising. Companies use promotional events to show off products, recruit new customers, or reflect and appreciate the support that the clients and team members have given to the company. 

What Are The Types of Promotional Events?

There are a variety of promotional events that corporate businesses can use to obtain the goals they set. Deciding on the type of event will strongly depend on the objective of the promotion.

Launch parties are a conference form that includes sales members to talk about new or upcoming products is one of the familiar promotional event types. These events allow corporations to advertise and educate their clients directly.

Specialized businesses can use workshops and seminars as promotional conferences to express the knowledge they have. Providing the event attendees with valuable information they can use in their personal or business field. 

Award events can be used to express the company’s appreciation to its customers and staff members. Congratulating every employee at the top of their field provides a sense of care to the members of the team. Award events will motivate the team to work harder to obtain a trophy at the next ceremony. 

Webinars and virtual events allow big corporations to access a wider range of new potential customers. These events can be used to advertise or bring awareness to the company brand. Webinars are more accessible and economical, with access to more customers that can attend. 

How Do You Plan A Promotional Event?  

Creating a plan for a promotional event is a key step to hosting a successful event. Planning and drawing everything will allow the team to see the ideas and goals behind it, and what each member’s tasks are. 

Creating an 8-step checklist will ensure that the team stays on track and know exactly how the progression is going. 

Setting the budget and determining the event goals for the event is step one in the 8-step checklist. This is crucial. The team will know the reason behind the event. This will allow them to provide information or ideas on how to obtain the main goal. All within a specific financial allocation.

Planning the event promotion strategy and content the target audience will hear at the event in step 2. In this phase of planning the sales team will create well-informed content that customers can access at the event. The event marketing team is required to create a marketing strategy to ensure that the customers are informed about the event.

Step 3 will be to organize and inform speakers of the event. Informative content must be provided to the speakers to ensure that the knowledge they share is in line with the business and products. Companies can use this step to organize sponsors and giveaways for the day of the event.

Promoting the event plays a crucial part in the checklist. This step is to ensure that all potential customers can notice the event. Advertise where the majority of the target market spends most of their time. Use social media and event hashtags to ensure that the potential attendees see future events.  

Steps 5 and 6 places focus on creating a message the team can adapt to spread vital information on the day of the event. Create and spread the content in time to ensure the sales team has the time to study it. Provide each member with a portion of freedom to personalize the information.

Create an event that places focus on the customer. Step 7 is to plan and design certain spaces within the event where future clients can come to ask questions and communicate their concerns about the service or products. 

The last step in the checklist is to use a metric system to calculate and determine if past events was a success. This will allow the company to take action on improving these events, which will make these promotional events more effective.

How To Promote Your Promotional Event?

A key part of hosting and running a successful promotional event is based on the number of customers attending. The object of the event will provide the business with direction and strategies on what to do on the day. However, the marketing team will focus on capturing potential target audience attention to ensure that they attend. 

According to Wix, companies can focus on multiple different approaches to ensure that the marketing is seen by the right customers. The marketing team must assess the customers and use the specific platforms to advertise on. 

Finding creative ways for an event-specific website will promote the event and drive registrations. This will allow customers to access all the information needed, such as the location, the date, and the speakers of the event. Placing all the essential information on one easy-to-access platform will allow the customers to know exactly what, where, and why the promotional conference is held.

Email marketing allows companies direct access to most of their current customers. This platform provides access to customer needs, wants, and quarries they have. Corporations can use a direct mail campaign to add more value to the customers by updating them on new products. The platform will allow the marketing team to advertise to existing customers. 

Adapting the marketing strategy to connect with the right customers is of utmost importance. The event marketing team can run social media contests to bring awareness to the event. This applies to multiple social media platforms. Incorporating specific social media posts for the upcoming event can ensure that potential attendees know the date and time of the actual event.  

Companies can use event promotion and sponsors from other companies to advertise on their platforms. This will allow a collaboration that leads to a wider reach through social media. Facebook groups are a great tool for marketers to use for advertising. Having all the clients in one group will save marketing time by allowing the team to post on one platform where most of the customers are present. 

Check Out Event Promotion: 6 Advanced Tactics To Promote Events with Social Media:

Promotional Event Ideas

Generating ideas among the staff management team can become a tedious activity. Corporations can allow a wider team into the circle of generating ideas to enhance their opportunity to come across exceptional ideas. 

Promotional ideas can be used in different phases of the event. Generating a new and fresh concept for the event, or a fascinating marketing strategy are both promotional ideas that will take the event forward. 

Drive Thru Promotion Ideas

Promoting a drive-thru coffee shop or location will take more creativity and consistency. The main objective should be to showcase the consistency of the amazing and well-curated service the company provides. Customers will return based on how the company made them feel, and not solely based on the products provided. 

Companies can use these essential steps to improve their event promotion. The first is to add signage to ensure that customers can identify the promotional event. Drive-by customers can catch a glimpse of the event branding and stop due to curiosity.

Secondly, companies can have discount codes and event specials to draw clients in. This will grant customers access to the products they want to come back for. Customers will not appreciate the product if they do not taste it. 

Train the staff. Ensure that all staff members can answer questions that customers might have through their way. This will add value to the experience the customers obtain from encountering the company. Have the staff focus on the customer’s needs and ensure that they are met. 

Web Promotion Ideas

Creating a event website for the promotional event will add range and attraction to the marketing strategy. Companies use websites to create authority. An authoritative website shows customers what a promotional event will add to their life. The business can build trust through credible sources and event sponsors on their pages. 

Setting up a web page grants the company a wider reach than normal social media pages. A business can use tools to ensure that its web page appears at the top of the search rankings. This will ensure that more clients come across these events. An event website allows businesses to build relationships with their customers by sharing valuable content and upcoming events. This will keep all customers in the loop. 

Another wen promotion idea will be to inform and advertise to the ideal client directly on the website. Businesses do not have to wait for the physical event to promote their products or services. Provide the customer with value from the start. This will provide the customer with the knowledge they can share with other friends or family members if the demand for the product is bigger.

Tips For Creating A Successful Promotional Event

Deciding on the event goal and checklists around it, is an easy way to start a successful event. Corporations can state their objective, and the rest of the team can work to bring them to life. 

Knowing Your Target Audience

The target audience is the customers that will enjoy and use the products or services of your company. Setting insightful and accurate marketing that aims to target the ideal customer can enhance the sales of the promotional event. 

Once a company knows its ideal customer, it can create advertisements that specifically target them. This will not only lead to more individuals attending the promotional event but will lead to having the right event attendees that require the product or service at these events. 

Have A Goal 

Goal setting is of utmost importance in all corporate areas. This will allow the members to plan and set an action strategy to achieve something specific. Companies that have no action plan tend to drift around, aimlessly struggling to find rhythm and direction for their company. 

Set realistic, measurable goals that are specific and can be reached. Once the goals are set, every individual can work to obtain these goals. 

Create A Schedule With Deadlines

The benefits of sales teams setting deadlines is magnificent. Companies can use deadlines to ensure that all members of the team work without procrastinating. These members will be forced to obtain the task as quickly as possible due to the deadline.

Deadline is a natural course of keeping staff accountable for accomplishing what the company set out to do. This added pressure will allow individuals to think quickly and take action on more tasks.

Should You Hire Promotional Event Companies?

Companies should focus on using promotional event companies. These corporations can plan, create and run an event to the success needed to achieve the goals set out by the company. Hiring external event planning corporations will allow the internal team to focus on their main tasks and goals without being interrupted by planning.

The hired company will deal with all the planning, event marketing, advertising, and other tedious tasks of organizing and running a promotional event. These companies have the necessary contacts and input to distribute and target the right customers. 

What Can Conference Source Help For Your Promotional Event?

Conference Source can start by setting high-quality and achievable goals and objectives. This will give the organizing company a clear vision of what to achieve. If goals are clearly communicated, it will take less time to bring the event to life. 

Conference Source can provide extra information on topics such as when the event will happen, who the target audience will be, and what type of promotional event it will be. All these small details will ensure that the outsourced company has a clear sight of what is needed and how to achieve set goals. 

FAQs

What Are Examples of Promotional Events?

Events such as launch parties where new products are being advertised or workshops and webinars are perfect examples of ideal promotional events. Other promotional events are award shows or conferences where knowledge on certain topics within a specialized industry is shared. 

What Is The Top Promotional Event Firm?

Top promotional firms provide an amazing service. Planning, organizing, and running the entire event to ensure the achievement of company goals and increasing sales. 

Final Thoughts

Promotional events can be used in multiple ways. Certain companies will use these events to create brand and product awareness while others use these conferences to add value to their customers without selling them a product. 

Outsourcing the planning, creating and hosting of the event can save a company time and resources. This will allow the in-house staff to focus on important tasks and goals that need their full focus. These events can assist in company growth and increase sales if it is used correctly. 

Sabine Ghali

Kelly Murphy

PRESIDENT & FOUNDER

Certified Meeting planner with 20+ years of event management experience, founder of ConferenceSource, expert in meeting facility sourcing & contracting in North America, Europe, South America and Asia. Kelly will manage your budget as if they were her own, negotiating the best possible rate and hotel contract to benefit and protect every client and exceed all expectations for all planning aspects for sales meetings, educational meetings, product launches, incentive trips down to a small board of directors meeting. We make meetings easy understanding your meeting objectives and delivering meeting matched components.